Heat Pumps – the Hybrid System A Hybrid system Heat Pump keeps homes comfortable all year long. In summer, like an air conditioner it draws heat out of your home to cool it. In the winter, it draws heat from outside air into your home to warm it. Many heat pumps have a booster electrical-resistance heater that automatically heats outside air even more. Outside air always has heat in it -- even at very low outdoor temperatures. Like a central air conditioner, a heat pump includes a compressor, fan, outdoor coil, indoor coil, and a refrigerant. The efficiency of heat pumps is rated using SEER (for cooling efficiency) and HSPF (for heating efficiency). A heat pump uses electricity as its power source. The basic components of a heat pump are:
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